Monday, August 31, 2009

Goodbye, New York! It has been a wonderful experience living near the Big Apple for two years. I found New Yorkers to be friendly and generous and fascinating. Nothing surprises them! Of course I'll return to visit my Empire Quilters guild and Lady Liberty. Did you know she had curls in front of her ear? The sculptor designed her face to look like his mother. Isn't that sweet?

Okay, one more. These slippers have weight-activated LED lights so they turn on when you put them on, but only if it's dark. This could be pretty spooky until your family gets used to you walking around at night with these on!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Can you believe this photo from "Mary on Lake Pulaski?" This isn't the product of Photoshop! It's the real thing. She took this photo from her deck on Christmas Eve. Mary lives in Minnesota. And to think heaven will be even prettier than this!

Mary how do you get any quilting done with this breath-taking view outside your door? Thanks for this photo.

Friday, August 28, 2009

These two mailboxes cracked me up on a recent drive through Connecticut. I love the post above, so elegant yet modest. Definitely an Onion Chair person, don't you think?

I don't know what to think about this mailbox repair job! Maybe they couldn't find the screwdriver? It can't be that they just like duct tape; there's too much energy there. I'm thinking someone said, "Okay! I fixed your stupid mailbox!" Do you think there's out-going mail in there, or the flag's just stranded in the "up" position? I doubt the owners want to discuss it.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Edith is a quilter in Switzerland. This is the view from her sewing/bedroom in the morning. Isn't it pretty? She says it's hot in the afternoon, but nice and cool by evening. She's visiting the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, England now. To hear about her trip, visit her blog: http://www.quiltsundmehr.blogspot.com/.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Kathi Price of Frisco, TX was making some mini key fobs for a charity giveaway when she spied some tiny selvage scraps left over from another project, and she had an "A-Ha!" moment. Don't you love it when that happens? Now this is a quick selvage project:)

Saturday, August 22, 2009

This is the beautiful view from Susan's sewing room in the spring! She lives near Madison, Wisconsin. Susan enjoys quilting, knitting, reading, thinking, listening, and praying. She's also a blogger and grandmother. Take a look at her blog: http://incrementalvictories.blogspot.com/

Thank you for sharing your photos with us! I learned how to swim from my Aunt Ruth in Lake Mendota a million years ago, and I have very nice memories of Wisconsin.

Friday, August 21, 2009

You've probably heard of "Quilt in a Cup." (You make a mini quilt and insert it into an insulated cup for a quick fun project - and perfect for selvages.) Now Dianne Springer also has "Quilt in a Clock," "Quilt in a Mousepad," "Quilt in a Clipboard," "Hooked on a Quilt," "Quilt on a Chair," and a rug pattern too! You can see all this cool stuff at: http://www.quiltinacup.com/.

While Dianne is busy coming up with all these ideas for adding quilt charm to useful objects, she saves her selvages for me! Am I lucky or what? The photo above is just the top of a big pile of selvages that arrived today! Gotta go sew. Bye for now.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

This was a project by businessman and philanthropist Daniel Czapiewski of Poland. He was making a statement about the Communist era and the state of the world. It has attracted thousands of tourists. Many of them say that they feel seasick after a while. See more at

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Have you seen "Mary on Lake Pulaski" in blogland and wondered about her lake? I have. And here it is! She lives in Minnesota, the "Land of Ten Thousand Lakes." She doesn't even have a photo of it on her blog, so you have to see it here!

I love lakes. Looking at this photo, I can hear the little waves lapping the beach. You are so lucky, Mary! Thanks for sharing your lake with us.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Samantha Kelly is a quilter who lives in Sydney, Australia. The beach above is near her, and Samantha, I've walked along that very path overlooking the beach! What a gorgeous place! Winter in Sydney is very gentle compared to New York. Both places have equally good quilting weather, though.

In the photo below you can see the view from Samantha's balcony at sunset. You can see Centrepoint Tower in the distance. Just beautiful. Thanks for the tour, Samantha. Check out her blog at: http://hand-quilter.blogspot.com/

Monday, August 17, 2009

I was amazed to see the quilts in the latest L.L. Bean catalog. Usually quilts offered in most catalogs are uninspiring to say the least, especially if you're a quilter. But I have to say that their collection is very nice. This is hand-quilted according to the ad, and it looks dense too, judging by the photo. Prices: Twin: $199, Queen: $229, and King: $249. I'm assuming they are made in China, but still, how do they do this? Have any of you seen these in person?

Sunday, August 16, 2009

This is the view from Selina's front door. She lives in Queensland, Australia. The photo was taken at 5PM on a recent winter's afternoon. (Flowers in the winter; that's nice!) They have 3 acres and love it there.

Thanks for inviting all of us to your front yard, Selina! You can tell your husband that you had over 500 quilting buddies visit today.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Update: After Cyndi sent me her photo (below), she had a visitor in her backyard - a bear! She was baking some good smelling brownies and he was looking for them.

Cyndi Holman sent this photo of her part of the world.

"I saw your pic of NY and you said, send me your pics of the world outside your door. Well, here's mine. I live in a little town in the mountains in Southern California called Forest Falls. It's named for our "Big Falls," which are about 1/4 mile away from my house. (I can hear them when I sleep at night--so relaxing.)"

Oh, that sounds so nice! Nothing like the sound of water fall asleep to. (But watch out for that bear!)

JoAnne in Texas made these 2 small (9" x 12") selvage quilts for Ami Simms' Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. They will be sold or auctioned at the Houston show in October. If you want to make a quilt for this worthy cause, visit: www.amisimms.wordpress.com. What a great idea. Nice job, JoAnne!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

This is Anya's backyard in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. Don't you love the hand-dyed fabric lawn decoration? She and her quilting buddies have been enjoying a lot of hand-dyeing lately. They have 4.5 wooded acres. I love those white pines, green all year.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Valentina in Cyprus was enjoying a perfect stitching day at the home of a friend, and she happened to have her camera. Thanks for thinking of us and sharing this photo, Valentina. That's a very pretty bag on the table.

Isn't it fun to be "invited" to all these quilter's porches and yards?

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

"After I made the original selvage purse, I said I wouldn’t make another one, but I’ve made two more. As with every selvage project, no two are exactly alike. It takes me about twenty hours to make one, although I figure I could shave some time off if I could convince the cat to go away while I’m working!"

Aren't they pretty? That polka dotted fabric looks great with her selvages. One of these is for sale on Etsy (see links below). I wonder when Joan's going to make her next batch of selvage purses!

This is the view of Joan's backyard from her screened porch. She lives northwest of Atlanta. I like those little birdhouses. What a verdant paradise!

Lois in Nashville, TN has this view from her sewing area. I love Nashville; we lived there for 14 years. Wonderful people, gentle climate, and all kinds of music. Lois says:

"I'm a beginner sewer/quilter who is back sewing after 30 years (high school home ec class). I started back in April with a big project (redoing the upholstery and curtains in our airstream travel trailer)."Yikes! That is a big project. See her blog at:http://www.lowdownfromlois.blogspot.com/.

Monday, August 10, 2009

I just received these pre-cut fabrics from Laura Sampsel's Fabric Square Shop. Aren't they delicious? I'm starting to appreciate how the variety in a charm pack can really jump-start a scrap quilt. Sometimes you just need a smidgen, not a whole fat quarter.

I couldn't help laying out a few squares of the pretty Kaffe squares above. (My surface was wavy; the squares are accurate.)

The soft arrangement below is a jelly roll called "Spring Magic" by April Cornell from Moda. I'm tempted to just sew all these strips together "as is" for a summer hammock quilt. (If I had a hammock. I guess I could set one up between 2 parking meters. I'd probably have to feed them quarters every 15 minutes. That sounds restful!) Just kidding, not whining!

Red and White Quilt Exhibit

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Selvage Asterisk Block!

About Me

Quilt-making is my passion. I love the creative process. Sharing my artwork and the artwork of others on my blogs has become a favorite part of my day.
Share your selvage creations by emailing photos to me at karengriska@optonline.net.
Take a look at my book: "Quilts from the Selvage Edge" published by AQS.
Quilt collectors and quilt lovers will want to visit my Etsy store: Karen Griska Quilts.
My husband and I live in the beautiful hills of Litchfield, Connecticut. We have two grown sons: a photographer in Louisville, KY, and an artist in CT. We enjoy hiking, photography, watching movies, eating pizza, and visiting with family.